A suspension of that length will cost A-Rod and save the Yankees roughly $34.2 million. His contract won’t count against the luxury tax while he is suspended.

This comes on the heels of A-Rod suggesting on Friday that MLB and the Yankees are trying to cancel the rest of his contract.

“There is more than one party that benefits from me not ever stepping back on the field,” A-Rod said after homering in Trenton on Friday. “And that’s not my teammates and it’s not the Yankee fans.”

“I think it is pretty self-explanatory. I think that is the pink elephant in the room,” he said. “I think we all agree that we want to get rid of PEDs. That’s a must. I think all the players, we feel that way. But when all this stuff is going on in the background and people are finding creative ways to cancel your contract and stuff like that, I think that’s concerning for me, it’s concerning for present — and I think it should be concerning for future players, as well.”

Prior to Friday night’s comments, A-Rod was reportedly in negotiations with the Yankees on a settlement for the remaining $90 million on his contract. The MLBPA head Michael Weiner, on behalf of A-Rod, reached out to MLB with a suggested 80-100 game suspension with the promise to retire afterward if he could still get paid the remainder of his contract. However, talks with the Yankees and MLB ended following his public comments on Friday.

There are two interesting things going on here. First of all, it doesn’t sound like a lifetime ban is coming even as a negotiation tactic. The other is that Bud Selig is not expected to use the “integrity of the game” clause to suspend A-Rod. By not doing that, A-Rod will be able to play while he’s appealing the suspension, per JoelSherman.

If A-Rod appeals the suspension, he is has said that he expect the Yankees to activate him from the DL and plans on playing. Yankees manager Joe Girardihas confirmed that he will pencil A-Rod into the lineup if he is available.

MLB has decided against banning A-Rod without giving him the right to play while he appeals to avoid a court battle with the MLBPA and they want to avoid the perception that A-Rod isn’t getting his due process. He is being levied a much heavier suspension because they are charging that he used steroids for years (including 2009-2012), he lied to MLB during the investigation and tried to destroy evidence, per Sherman (additionallinks).

About Rob Abruzzese

Rob Abruzzese created Bronx Baseball Daily in 2008 just before graduating from Brooklyn College. He currently serves BBD as its editor and works as a reporter at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Follow Rob on Twitter @RobAbruzzese.

Thanks to Mike. And I'm not sure who this person who thinks they've been banned for pointing out typos is. I don't usually ban anyone unless they're attacking other commenters. As far as I can remember, I've never banned anyone for pointing out a typo. It's usually pretty helpful and encouraged as long as it's not done in an insulting way.

Well, if it's not banning, then it's your software. I have gone through at least three lengthy intervals where my posts were immediately responded to with something similar to "your message has been deleted by the moderator".

I don't see any record of you having ever posted before today and I never received any emails from you about having any problems. If you are indeed having a problem then please contact me through email.

mike, I think the answer to that has to be psychological. The need this player has to be the game's highest paid player goes hand in hand with a definite narcissism, and the root of narcissism is both outward egotism and deep seated insecurities. Also we read reports that A-Fraud was willing to accept the suspension and retire afterwards if he could get paid the remainder of his contract. That sort of sounds like all he cares about is the money, because the money is something he can point to to validate himself. Part of that is normal, we all have a connection between our self worth and our income, but for an individual with such fragile self esteem it is crucial.

From what I understand, 13 players were suspended today. 12 got 50 games for violations that occurred in 2012. A-Rod, it's been reported, is being suspended for violations that occurred in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. They're also accusing him of lying and trying to destroy evidence. I've heard that they believe that he advised other players to go to Biogenesis also, but that has been a much more vague rumor.

anything is possible, and it seems reasonable to assume that he might win a reduction, but even if he scores a complete victory, he's still getting suspended because part of the suspension isn't subject to appeal , but is at the discretion of the commissioner.

This is actually the best outcome, among those that were likely, for the team. They get A-Roid back for 2013, and they need his bat, but they shed his salary for 2014 when they are driven to get under the $189 mil. With the suspension sure to be appealed that pushes the 211 games into the 2015 season, which helps for the 2015 luxury tax threshold as well.

I wonder if there are PEDS used that are undetectable and did the Biogenesis lab produce some…is that what were seeing where the suspensions are being based on information supplied by Biogenesis who produced PEDS that were undetectable?